Archives for April 2011

‘In the end, they did the right thing.’

‘He fits in every scheme. That’s the great thing about him. It didn’t matter who picked him or what defense you had, he fits in all of them. That’s the type of player he is.’

‘The 21-year-old Dareus is Alabama’s earliest draft pick since linebacker Cornelius Bennett was taken with the second overall pick in the 1987 draft.’

‘”Wherever they want me, I’ll be there,” he said. “If I’m not the best at it, give me a couple of weeks and I will be.”‘

‘Listed at 6-foot-3 and 308 pounds, Dareus is a versatile lineman who proved capable of pressuring the quarterback as well as stopping the run. Dareus was the defensive MVP in helping the Crimson Tide defeat Texas in the 2010 national championship game.’

‘Alabama DT Marcell Dareus was widely regarded as the the top defensive lineman in the draft and should play in middle of the line in the Bills 3-4 defense.’

‘For a team that finished dead last against the run and was in desperate need of a player to help solve those woes, in walks Alabama defensive tackle Marcell Dareus on his white horse to save the day. I don’t think there is any arguing the selection, it’s a home run pick.’

‘Nix added later on that he does not think the Bills’ have as many needs immediately as most think. He did, however, tell the media that had Dareus not been available in that spot the quarterback position, and especially Blaine Gabbert, would have be looked at more heavily. When asked, Nix said it was “very likely” that more consideration would have been given to the position.’

‘Dareus will become an immediate starter and it isn’t unreasonable to expect him to upgrade the Bills defense right away, unlike first round pick Aaron Maybin two years ago. Put another way, Dareus is the type of defensive lineman the Bills would never be able to acquire via free agency, and would only be available at any time as a top two or three overall pick in an NFL draft.’

‘”He fits in every scheme, that’s the great thing about him,” Gailey said. “He’s a force to be reckoned with, a big, strong, physical man. I think we got better today.”‘

‘”The great thing about Marcell is we saw him playing on the tight end, on the tackle, on the guard and on the center,” said Gailey. “He gives you a lot of versatility. I can see him lining up in a lot of different spots for us as time goes on.””

‘”My mom she struggled with all seven of us to do the best she can,” said Dareus. “She was the head of our house. She brought us all up, six boys and one girl. She had to be the mother and the father. She really had to make our boys understand that they had to take care of our family and be productive in the community.”‘

‘They told me they were going to pick me up but I didn’t believe them. But they made a believer out of me.’

‘The great thing about Marcell is we saw him playing on the tight end, on the tackle, on the guard and on the center. He gives you a lot of versatility and we’ll play him at defensive end initially in our scheme. But I can see him lining up in a lot of different spots for us as time goes on. I think he is a forceful player. You can’t say that about every defensive player that comes along. There are a lot of people who make plays, but he is a force. He creates havoc on the offensive side and that was one of the things that we obviously liked about him.’

‘Newton has horrible footwork, a wind-up delivery and throws almost entirely with his arm and not his body. His Wonderlic score was abysmal and in college he ran what could generously be called a Pop Warner offense (Dick Jauron where are you?).’